Kentucky is taking part in a new national effort to combat opioid addiction and overdose deaths, thanks to an $87 million grant from the federal government.
The University of Kentucky announced the receipt of the grant — its largest ever — on Thursday.
The university, in partnership with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, received $87 million from the federal government to study and combat the state's ongoing opioid epidemic.
Gov. Matt Bevin, who attended the announcement at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, said this program is a "great opportunity" for the state.
The grant, which will be awarded over four years, lays out an ambitious goal: to reduce opioid deaths in 16 Kentucky counties by 40% in three years.
The counties being targeted are considered "highly affected communities."